TV News LIES

The United States has filed a declaration of intervention in South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), explicitly rejecting the allegation that the country is committing genocide in Gaza.

The filing was made on Thursday alongside separate interventions by Namibia, Hungary and Fiji, according to a press release issued by the court on Friday.

All four states submitted declarations under Article 63 of the ICJ statute, which allows countries that are parties to a treaty under dispute to intervene in order to present their interpretation of that treaty.

Earlier on Thursday, Iceland and the Netherlands also filed declarations under Article 63.

South Africa filed the case in December 2023, accusing Israel of breaching the Genocide Convention through its military campaign in Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October that year.

Pretoria argues that Israel's conduct - including mass killings, destruction of infrastructure and the imposition of conditions of life threatening the survival of Palestinians in Gaza - amounts to genocide.

Israel denies the accusation and claims its war is justified by considerations of self-defence. 

The US submission on Thursday stands out among most interventions for directly defending Israel against the accusation brought by South Africa. Taking sides in a case is highly unconventional under Article 63 submissions.

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Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank are reportedly exploiting movement restrictions imposed during the conflict with Iran, leading to increased attacks on Palestinians. Rights groups and medical personnel warn that military roadblocks are impeding ambulances from swiftly reaching victims.

Since the commencement of US and Israeli airstrikes against Iran on 28 February, at least five Palestinians have been killed by settlers in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry. An additional man died after inhaling teargas fired during an attack, as reported by Israeli rights group B'Tselem.

The Israeli military implemented significant curbs on movement on the first day of the conflict, blocking numerous West Bank roads with iron gates and earth mounds, and largely closing crossings with Israel. The military states these measures are preemptive while it conducts airstrikes on Iran and against Lebanese group Hezbollah, which has launched missiles at Israel in solidarity with Tehran.

Palestinians residing in remote West Bank villages describe feeling increasingly vulnerable to settler violence due to these roadblocks. They also note that the Israeli military has continued its frequent raids in Palestinian cities and towns, often resulting in arrests without charge, a practice common even during peacetime.

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A federal judge ruled on Friday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must release a Minneapolis man and asylum seeker who has been unlawfully detained for 50 days.

The man, identified as Elvis Joel TE in court filings, was arrested on 22 January at the height of ICE’s aggressive raids in Minneapolis. The case sparked widespread outrage as Elvis TE was detained with his two-year-old daughter while they were returning home from the store, and ICE quickly flew both of them to Texas despite a court order barring their transfer out of Minnesota.

His toddler was released to her mother the following day in response to a judge’s order, but the father, who is from Ecuador, has remained detained, even though he has a pending asylum case.

The US judge, Katherine Menendez, ruled on Friday there was no basis to keep Elvis TE in custody, saying he was “not properly detained” under the laws cited by the government.

US border patrol agents apprehended Elvis TE near Brownsville, Texas in May 2024, shortly after he crossed the border, at which point he claimed asylum, the judge wrote. He was then granted humanitarian parole, which means he was allowed to stay in the US as his asylum application moved its way through the process.

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A man is dead in Michigan after ramming a vehicle into one of the nation’s biggest synagogues that also houses an early childhood center, according to local officials.

The suspect drove into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township outside Detroit, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. Synagogue security staff opened fire on the vehicle, and it ignited. The suspect's cause of death remains unknown.

"As you have no doubt heard, Temple Israel was the victim of a terrorist gunman who was confronted and neutralized by our security personnel who are truly heroes," synagogue staff said in a statement on March 12. "Our teachers followed their training and kept the children safe and calm."

A security guard was struck by the vehicle and was hospitalized but is expected to recover, Bouchard said. No other injuries were reported. Authorities successfully evacuated the temple's school, which was in session when the attack occurred.

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Dear Leqaa,

Ramadan Kareem. I say it with a heavy heart, knowing these words reach you in a place that has tried to strip them of meaning.

It has now been one full year. One year since that dreadful night that marked the beginning of a brutal wave of arrests targeting protesters for nothing more than speaking the truth. Though we have never met in person, I have carried you with me every single day since Noor called me while I was detained in Jena, Louisiana, to tell me that you had been taken. I remember thinking: not again, not another one of us. From that moment, a piece of my heart has been tied to your struggle.

Leqaa, this is your second Ramadan in detention. I need to say that plainly, not as a detail but as a measure of what has been stolen from you. Ramadan is the sound of your mother’s voice calling you to iftar. It is the particular smell of food being prepared with love after a long day of fasting. It is the feeling of breaking bread with family, of praying together, of being held by community in the holiest time of the year.

But they denied you halal food in that facility. They denied you the basic dignity of practicing your faith. Last Ramadan you endured this, and now another has come and found you still caged, still waiting, still being told that your faith, like your grief, is something to be managed rather than honored.

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Three brothers, including two of the nation’s most successful luxury real estate brokers, were convicted of sex trafficking charges on Monday after a five-week trial over accusations that they used drugs and force to rape scores of women they had dazzled with their wealth and opulent lifestyle.

The verdict came after 11 women testified they were sexually assaulted by one or more of the brothers: twins Oren and Alon Alexander, 38, and Tal Alexander, 39.

The women described attacks that occurred after they were invited to vacation locales, including the Hamptons, a Caribbean cruise and a ski trip in Aspen, Colorado. More than 60 women say they were raped by one or more of the brothers, according to prosecutors.

Defense lawyers suggested the accusers had faulty memories or were hoping to cash in on the brothers’ fortunes. The brothers, their lawyers conceded, were womanizers. But they insisted any sex was consensual.

Oren and Tal Alexander were brokers at real-estate powerhouse Douglas Elliman before starting their own firm, Official. Alon Alexander worked at the family’s private security firm.

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